Scud dodges media bullets, with a little help

Mark Philippoussis finally arrived in Adelaide yesterday afternoon, missing Australia's second official practice session on the Memorial Drive match court, but not the swirl of controversy dominating the lead-up to this week's first-round Davis Cup tie against Sweden.

Speaking publicly for the first time since suggestions from former cup greats Pat Cash and John Alexander that off-court distractions had contributed to his limp fourth-round exit from the Australian Open, Philippoussis proferred commercial obligations as the reason for his late appearance, but was spared any more questions by the interjections of his captain, John Fitzgerald.

"I just had something that I had to do, I had to fulfil some contracts," Philippoussis said after arriving from Melbourne just minutes before the Australians' compulsory 3pm news conference. "Having done so, I came in as soon as I was done."

Philippoussis practised later with hitting partner Todd Reid, supervised by Fitzgerald and coach Wally Masur, after the full squad had hit for more than three hours in the middle of the day. The hero of last year's final against Spain, Philippoussis had worked from Friday to Sunday with Lleyton Hewitt and Wayne Arthurs at Melbourne Park, and was granted a Monday rest.

Despite his delayed entrance leaving only another two days of centre-court practice, the 27-year-old was adamant he would be prepared for Friday's singles, probably against Swedish debutant Robin Soderling. "We've all been on the court, trained pretty hard, so it's not like I haven't been doing anything. I've been working pretty hard on the court, and physically as well," Philippoussis said. "It'll definitely be enough preparation."

Fitzgerald was strident in his defence of his singles No. 1, intervening when responses were sought from Philippoussis over his messy stoush with Cash and Todd Woodbridge's description of his cup teammate as "the type of guy who's been happy to give 70 per cent". Woodbridge, who had been speaking on radio, later claimed to have been quoted out of context.

"We don't want to answer that - he's not going to talk. I'm happy to answer anything if you want, but I'd prefer if it stayed on Davis Cup," Fitzgerald said. "We're not really interested in anything that sort-of angles toward tabloid journalism. It's not what this team's about.

"This team is a very solid unit and we're not interested in trying to develop a story that we don't think there's anything in. I think it's been overplayed absolutely, to the point of the ridiculous, and these guys are all here fighting together as a combined unit . . . We're not going to listen if (Cash) says something like that."

Earlier, Philippoussis said suggestions that Cash was considering taking out a restraining order against him were laughable, and insisted Davis Cup was the only thing on his mind.

Swedish captain Mats Wilander said the only thing that surprised him about the issue was the media's insistence on pursuing it. "I don't have an opinion about that, I must say. I have more important things to think about and do," he said.

Asked about Philippoussis's late arrival, Wilander said: "They've most probably played on this court since they were little kids; Lleyton obviously is from here, so I think it's totally different from us. So I couldn't put myself in their shoes, and they've come from the same surface in Melbourne."

The Swedes came much earlier, and all but the experienced Jonas Bjorkman have been here since last Thursday. Wilander said he would not be making his selections known before Friday's draw, but 57th-ranked Soderling is favoured for one singles place, and Bjorkman will play doubles, most likely with teenager Joachim Johansson, partner of Hewitt's sister Jaslyn.